Hassan lauds ´impressive´ quality at AFCON ahead of Senegal semi-final

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan hailed the “impressive” quality at the Africa Cup of Nations this year, brushing off criticism of his side’s performances in the knockout stages.

Egypt will face Senegal for a place in the AFCON final, having earned a nervy 3-2 win over the Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals, as the holders attempted a late fightback.

The Pharaohs were also forced to extra time in their round of 16 meeting with Benin, though they scored twice in the added 30 minutes to win 3-1.

Hassan highlighted the high quality of the teams competing at this year’s tournament, while maintaining his confidence in Egypt’s ability to keep pushing for the final.

“The standard of African football has increased ‍markedly ​with the quality of players in each team being very impressive,” he said.

“There have been so many teams here with world-class players, not only ⁠the experienced players but also youngsters, who have match-winning ability ‌and an incredible skill set.

“Every side has its weaknesses, and we have studied Senegal in depth as we have planned for this game. We are sure they will be analysing our approach, too, ‍so this could be decided on the small details.

“I don’t give a damn about [the criticism]. There are those who have confidence in what we are trying to achieve and those who are sceptical. I pay it no attention.”

#The Pharaohs have completed their last training in Agadir before heading to Tangier for the Semifinals #egyptnt pic.twitter.com/ZZcTLs1Tqg

— Egypt National Team (@EgyptNT_EN) January 12, 2026

Senegal, meanwhile, edged to a 1-0 win over 10-man Mali in the quarter-finals, but dominated from start to finish to reach the final four.

While a lot of the pre-match build-up has centred on former Liverpool team-mates Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah coming face to face again, it is Senegal’s defensive solidity that could be key to reaching the showpiece.

Senegal have kept 18 clean sheets in their 27 AFCON games over the last five editions (67%), at least four more than any other team in this period.

However, head coach Pape Thiaw is wary of the threat posed to his side by the likes of Omar Marmoush and Salah, who has been involved in a goal in each of his four matches at the 2025 edition (four goals, one assist).

“The Egyptian team plays excellently and knows how to defend, but we play in a balanced way and hope to show our best performance in the match,” he said.

“Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush are two great and outstanding players, but we are facing the entire Egyptian national team.

“With all due respect to them, we are determined to advance and secure a spot in the final.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Senegal – Sadio Mane

Mane’s next goal or assist will make him the first player on record (since 2010) to reach 20 goal involvements at the AFCON (currently 10 goals, nine assists).

His next goal, meanwhile, will see him become the ninth player in the tournament’s history to score more than 10 goals.

Egypt – Mohamed Salah

Salah has made six defensive-line-breaking passes at the 2025 AFCON, with former Liverpool team-mate Mane (eight) the only attacker to produce more.

He has scored 11 goals in the AFCON, equalling Hassan, with only Hassan El-Shazly finding the net more often (12) for Egypt in the competition.

MATCH PREDICTION: SENEGAL WIN

Senegal and Egypt will face each other for the sixth time at the AFCON. Both teams have won two matches apiece in the first five (D1), although that lone draw came in the 2021 final, where Senegal went on to win a penalty shootout (4-2).

The five meetings between Senegal and Egypt at the AFCON have seen just six goals scored (three each). Of fixtures played at least five times in the competition, only Cameroon v Ghana (1.0) has a lower goals-per-game ratio than Senegal v Egypt (1.2).

Senegal are looking to reach the AFCON final for the third time in the last four editions of the competition, having lost to Algeria in 2019 (1-0) and defeated Egypt on penalties in 2022.

Egypt, meanwhile, could become the first team to reach 10 finals at the tournament (currently level with Ghana on nine).

They have progressed from each of their last seven semi-finals (1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2017 and 2021), which is already the longest streak in the competition’s history.

But Senegal have scored in all nine games they have played at the AFCON since the start of the 2023 edition (20 goals in total) – it is the best goal per game ratio (2.2) of any team across the last two editions.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Senegal – 42.9%

Draw – 26%

Egypt – 31.1%